After the city of Chang'an was destroyed and King Chuang died, all the remaining generals including Li Guo and Liu Zongmin surrendered.
In just half a month, except for the remote town of Gansu, almost all prefecture and county guards in the entire northwest region had surrendered.
As for Gansu Town, which is located in the Hexi Corridor, the details are probably due to the long distance and lack of information.
At this time, armies from all walks of life had also arrived outside Chang'an City. The Red Lady also followed Zhu Cixiang's wishes and asked Wu Sangui to lead an army of 150,000 people to go south to Hanzhong. At the same time, she sent an envoy again to issue an ultimatum to the Eighth King Zhang Xianzhong.
As they were both rebels, there was no enmity between the Red Lady and the Eight Kings. Therefore, the Red Lady did not want to kill Zhang Xianzhong and all his generals, so she gave them one last chance.
Although Hanzhong has a steep terrain, it has been easy to defend and difficult to attack since ancient times. Although almost all the previous garrison troops were taken away by Sun Kewang, when the situation in the northwest became critical, the Eight Kings still gathered together 50,000 troops to garrison Hanzhong.
Although there were 50,000 people, most of them were recruited temporarily, and their combat effectiveness was really unsatisfactory. What's more terrible was that there were no generals in the Daxi Army except Li Dingguo. This forced Zhang Xianzhong to wear the army again and go to Hanzhong to defend the enemy in person.
However, Li Dingguo in the east of Shu and his 100,000 troops did not dare to send a single soldier to Hanzhong to support.
Because Qin Lihua's 50,000 white soldiers and Li Dakai's 30,000 troops in the Ninth Town put great pressure on Li Dingguo, he did not dare to relax at all.
The key is that there is no danger to defend. In the past six months, the armies of the two sides have been facing each other on both sides of the Yangtze River. Although they have tested each other, no war has ever broken out.
Qin Lihua and Li Dakai have not fought for a long time, not because they are afraid of fighting, but because they are implementing Zhu Cihong's strategy of focusing on defense.
Li Dingguo also did not dare to take the initiative to attack rashly, because if the war went against his will and the Ming army marched straight in, everything would stop.
It can be said that neither side is sure of victory. However, the northwest has been captured by the Ming army at this time. Even if Qin Lihua and Li Dakai were defeated, Li Dingguo would never dare to go down the river into Huguang.
Therefore, the two of them no longer had any worries, and immediately planned a decisive battle with Li Dingguo on the west bank, hoping to advance into Chengdu city before the Northern Army.
Obviously, the two of them were also affected. They subconsciously believed that the Eighth and Ninth Towns belonged to the Confederate Army, and they both became more competitive.
Although Mu Guogong of Yunnan was also eager to perform meritorious service and wanted to show off in front of the emperor, he led his army to attack Sichuan from the south. However, without the emperor's imperial edict and the order of the governor's office, he did not dare to lead his army out of Yunnan without authorization.
You can only do it in a hurry.
In fact, what Duke Mu is more anxious about is the emperor's attitude towards Mu Guogong's lineage. Although they have ruled Yunnan for generations, the emperor seemed to have forgotten Yunnan and Mu Guogong when he carried out drastic military reforms.
Duke Mu had to think wildly, wondering whether the emperor wanted to abolish Duke Mu's palace all day long.
"General Qin, this Li Dingguo is indeed not a simple person. I didn't expect that there would be such a person among the rebels!"
After several days of fighting, the Ming army did not gain any advantage, which made Li Dakai frown slightly and put away his original contempt.
"This Li Dingguo is indeed a rare general. His military strategy is far superior to that of Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu. If we want to defeat him, our army will probably have to pay a lot of price."
Qin Lihua nodded, looking quite regretful.
The Baigan soldiers had fought against the Daxi Army more than once or twice, so she knew Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons very well.
Li Dingguo joined the bandit army at the age of twelve and led an army at the age of fourteen. He followed Zhang Xianzhong and traveled north and south, fleeing east and west. He suffered countless defeats and won many battles.
So although he is young, only twenty-five years old, his combat experience is not inferior to those of veterans who have been fighting for many years. He is simply a freak.
She didn't feel that her opponent was just a young man in his early twenties, but more like a white-haired veteran who had experienced vicissitudes of battlefield.
"Does General Qin have any strategy to defeat the enemy?"
Although both of them were lieutenant generals, and Qin Lihua was still a female general, Li Dakai had no intention of overpowering her, and instead discussed everything with her.
Because he knew that it was okay for him to charge into the battle, but if he had to command an army of 80,000 to compete with a figure like Li Dingguo, he would probably suffer a big loss.
"General Li, you're welcome. The enemy is waiting for work. Apart from fighting hard, I don't have any good strategies to defeat the enemy. But now that the rebel army is gone, I guess Li Dingguo is a smart man. It's better to send an envoy to give it a try. If I can persuade him to surrender,
The best thing is to fight without bloodshed."
Qin Lihua said modestly, obviously she did not want to fight to the death with the Daxi Army unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, the casualties were all Bashu Erlang.
"Well, according to what General Qin said, I hope that Li Dingguo can understand current affairs." Li Dakai nodded.
Immediately, the two sent an envoy across the river to the Daxi Army camp.
"General Li, King Chuang has been killed and defeated long ago. Your three sworn brothers have also been defeated in Huguang and are hiding in the mountains. Now it is obvious that the situation is over for you, so why do you insist on stubbornness?
My old general cherishes your talents. As long as General Li is willing to submit to the imperial court, my old general is willing to personally report to your majesty, plead for the general and his 100,000 soldiers, and recommend him. I hope the general will think twice!"
The messenger said earnestly.
Li Dingguo naturally understood that the old general he was referring to was Qin Liangyu, and he admired this womanly general in his heart.
Hearing this, he also sighed, raised his hands and said: "Excuse me, please go back and tell Old General Qin that I, the junior Li Dingguo, would like to thank her for her kindness and surrender. I dare not make the decision without authorization. I need to discuss it with my adoptive father before I can reply. Please
Wait a little longer!"
"Okay, I will definitely bring the words to you."
Seeing that the envoy had reached this stage, he still wanted to discuss with Zhang Xianzhong. Although he admired his loyalty, he was also extremely helpless, so he had to say goodbye and leave.
Qin Lihua and Li Dakai were equally surprised after hearing Li Dingguo's reply.
Because these 100,000 Western troops are all direct descendants of Li Dingguo's close confidants, and Zhang Xianzhong has long been alone, Li Dingguo can make the decision on his own without paying attention to Zhang Xianzhong's attitude.
For a while, the two of them were in a dilemma, because if the delay continued, Wu Sangui might have entered Hanzhong.
It was impossible for Zhang Xianzhong's improvised mob of tens of thousands to stop the hundreds of thousands of field troops, not even with natural dangers.
"You make another trip and tell Li Dingguo that I will only give him seven days. If he does not surrender after seven days, the army will cross the river and everyone will be burned. I hope he can take care of himself."
The two discussed for a while, and finally Qin Li said slowly.